It's not getting to the Apps Screen that's the issue. Press Windows+W and you're virtually there.

It's what you see when you get to the Apps Screen!

I want an old style drop-down menu. I must have about 100 - 200 apps on my computer, most of them never addressed by me. These never-used apps are probably links to the app-maker's site or to a help menu for the product. There's no reason to get rid of them; and there is always the chance I might actually need one at some time in the future.

BUT I DON'T WANT THEM TO HAVE EQUAL TIME ON THE DISPLAY!
(shouting intentional)

When I click on the programs menu - the way I had it set up - I got less than a full-screen's work of apps and app-folders listed. Because that is essentially what I had. And it was the app-folders that saved the day and made my computer workable.

The folder structure is still the easiest and most manageable method for handling abundance of data.

I had a DVD copier app, but it didn't have the company's name in the title nor did it have the word "DVD" in its name. In Win 7, that wasn't an issue. I could have name the folder DVD or I could simply scan the short main app list and recognized the company.

In Win 8, it has become a huge issue. Smeared across my screen is every app on my machine. Yes, they seem to be organized, but a horizontal (sort of) -- vertical (sort of) distribution of data is unscanable. Let me say that again. The Win 8 presentation of apps present does not lend itself to quick product locating. Because keywords are neither vertically nor horizontally aligned, the eyes must make too many movements to find an object it is looking for by mere scanning. The searcher must peruse. That's a short fancy word that means "examine carefully." And perusing is the very opposite of what I want to do when I am in the middle of a music editing job and I need an app that properly stitches two segments together. (Oh, yes, Audacity!)

I can't speak for every "complainer" here, but I bet most of them don't mean what you appear to think they mean.

They aren't searching for the Apps. They are searching for an App!. And they want to be able to get there quickly.

They want a menu structure.

There is a reason the history of desktop computers is rooted in menus. And it isn't because there was no alternative. I've programmed for about forty years, and the reason for menu-driven processes is that they are easy for the user.

Touch-driven and voice-driven processes conflict with menus, because menus have to be dropped. And it is why so many of us had problems using software like Dragon - moving around the menus.

And name-driven processes are insanity. The value of a computer is its handling of large amounts of data -- most of which we do not know the exact name of. That means we need to know where we put it and that means an organizing principle that follows a menu structure. Pictures in this folder. Family pictures in this subfolder. Games in that folder. And so on.

That is one of the fundamental differences between PCs and Macs. PC users do more; they need a logic that allows this to happen. Mac users do less (really, I've watched them). And they're happy (about half the time) with what they need to do to find something they forgot the name of. Count the number of applications on a typical PC and compare that to those on a typical Mac and you will see why PCs need to have a menu-access structure.